Previously passed over for promotion...appraisal tomorrow

[Naetha]

I wonder if any of you folks could help me with a work question? As a bit of background I've been with my current employer for 3 and a half years as an environmental consultant, and I'm now 27 weeks pregnant with my first.

Back in 2006 I asked my bosses for a development plan so I wouldn?t just sit and moulder for the rest of my life in this company, after about 6 months I got one, where the objectives were promotion to the next grade in October 2006. At my appraisal in October 2006 I talked about moving division (not a massive move, I was equally qualified for both jobs, it was just experience I was lacking) and they decided this was fine, but essentially I?d have to forego my promotion as it would take me a while to settle into my new position. So my next development plan was revised with my objective to promotion to next grade by April 2007. Come my appraisal in April 2007, the mention of promotion in April had been removed, and it just said objective to promotion in 2007, so I was passed over again. Now the promotion / performance review timescale has changed, and although I am having my appraisal tomorrow, I have been told there will be no promotions until January 2008 when I will be on maternity leave (and still no mention as to whether I will be included in this round of promotions).

Now as you can imagine I?m pretty miffed with this whole situation, not least because my company is notorious for underpaying; although I enjoy my work and my team, if I wasn?t pregnant I would be seriously considering changing job (I have been with the company 3 and a half years now, since graduation).

Any tips on how to ensure I get my promotion (and hopefully a damn payrise) in my appraisal tomorrow? One of my colleagues who has similar qualifications and experience and joined at a similar time was promoted when I changed division, and although is now leaving the company, was offered another promotion to keep her here (and is moving to the new company at the new level she was offered here, i.e. two rungs at least above me). Can I use her promotion history as a comparison as our performance has been fairly similar?

Anyway, to summarise (many apologies for the long windedness above) can I ensure I get my promotion / pay rise prior to going on maternity leave, and if I don?t, can I sue for discrimination because I was pregnant, or at least threaten to?

Hi Naetha

The first thing that jumped out at me was that you 'asked your bosses for a development plan'.It may just have been the way you phrased it, but I would always be much more impressed with someone who came to me with a development plan already written, with objectives in terms of promotion etc, identifying what skills/experience need to be developed to get there, how he/she proposes to achieve these things, identifying what support would be needed from the organisation, what obstacles/difficulties there might be and how these can be overcome.

As I say, may have just been how you phrased it, but worth bearing in mind...

To deal with the specific promotion opportunities you mention. The first prospective promotion was October 2006, but you requested a move sideways which meant foregoing immediate promotion prospects, which sounds fair enough.

Second one was April 2007. Were there specific objectives identified by you or by your boss at your appraisal in October 2006 to enable you to achieve promotion in April, and did you do so? Was promotion guaranteed if you managed these things or was it something to be discussed?

Next objective was promotion 'during 2007'. Were you told why it had been extended to during 2007 rather than being April? I am assuming you asked at your appraisal when you were told it wouldn't be happening?

Now you have been told there will be no promotions until January 2008, which I'm assuming is a budgetary thing or similar, ie nothing to do with you specifically?

I think the key here is what reasons you were given in April 2007, which I think is the only occasion where you may have a legitimate complaint. If you can let us know what the reasons were, it will be easier to identify whether it was reasonable or not, whether there was any discrimination or not. Can't do the maths but were you pg in April and did they know? I think you may have been just pg but early on?

I think the question 'how can I get my promotion tomorrow' is not an easy one to answer. You should be asking your boss (and us or anyone else) how you can get promotion in 6 months or whatever, what you need to achieve/learn/change. It will be too late to get promotion tomorrow, any decision about that will have been made already, no one is going to decide to promote someone because of one meeting. If you have been told nobody will get any promotion before January, I expect that will stand.

You could use your colleague as a comparator, but difficult without knowing more, and as I say, the reasons you have been given in April are key.

More of relevance is the question 'how can I get promotion and payrise before going on maternity leave'. I think if you (and everyone else) have been told no promotions before January, there is no reason to necessarily think that should change. However there is also no reason why you can't be promoted while you are on maternity leave - your performance can be assessed up to the time you go on leave (when?) quite easily, and if you are suitable for promotion and would be promoted if you are at work, there is no reason you can't be. You will only have been on maternity leave for a short while, so you will have recent work experience/performance to be considered. It might be a bit different if you had been on maternity leave for 9 months, I would expect someone in that position to come back and work for a bit to give both them and the organisation an opportunity to fairly assess them before promotion.

As far as discrimination because you are pregnant is concerned, again difficult to tell. It is possible, but would depend on what you are told at your appraisal tomorrow about what you need to do to achieve promotion at the next opportunity which is January, and obviously how well you do it.

HTH, as you can see I'm asking quite a lot of questions, but if you are able to answer them I might be able to help a bit more.

Couple of things for you - "promotion to next grade" is not an objective. It is an over arching aim. An objective needs to be SMART (specific, masurable, achievable, realistic, and within a timeframe) thus, the 'objective' the company set you is not quite correct ! Go through your appraisals (previous ones) and look at specific objecitves e.g. targets you were set - and address each one individually. (for example, 10% growth target over 6 months, actually achieved 15% etc.) This way you will be able to clearly demonstrate that you have met the company's requirements, and would therefore like to address your ptomotional prospects. I would tell them that you feel they are moving the goal posts regarding the promotion - but be careful not to whine, or harp on about things that have gone before. You have to keep them on track - and politely but firmly, illustrate that you have done everything required of you.
I would only use our colleagues promotion as an example if all other avenues fail. You never know the details of someone else's promotion / change in job etc. so probably best not to quote that one. (You can always give them that example further down the road if needed).
With regards to how this links to maternity leave, you have exaclty the same rights as you always have to be promoted. Incidentally, you can alsoapply for promotion during maternity leave (alot of people don't know that). Your company has a duty of care to inform you of any vacancies that arise whilst you are away from work, and must welcome your application in exactly the same way as if you are still in the office.
In terms of suing for discrimination - honestly, this is not a route you want to go down. Take it from someone who has been down the legal route with her employers - it is hard work, exhausting, and mentally a tough thing to do. (Not to mention the legal fees involved).
My recommendation would be to address this without the emotion (I know it's easier said than done), tell them what you have done, and how you have met all of the targets and requirements set for you, and then point out that you have fulfilled all requirements for promotion. Then put the ball in their court to come back to you - either with the promotion offer, or a valid reason as to why they are not offering it to you. In a few days time, once you know what has been said etc. then you may want to consider your options - but don't get carried away with them just yet.
Sorry to rant on - I hate to see anyone possibly being discriminated against, but it's important to keep your cool at this stage of the game. If it doesn't go the way you want it to, and you think it is due to discrimination because you are pregnant - then please feel free to get in touch. I'll be happy to help you out on some of the details involved. Hope this helps, and good luck for tomorrow x

just to add to what Flowery said, it is automatically sex discrimination (ie you don't need to find an example of someone treated better as a comparator) if your employer fails to consider or offer you for promotion for any reason connected with your pregnancy or maternity leave - they also have a duty to keep you informed about any promotion opportunities whilst you are on maternity leave - I'm sure any clued up employer wouldn't be daft enough to come out & say that explicitly in the appraisal, but you never know... It would be worth asking them how they intend to keep you informed about promotion opportunities whilst you are on m/l.

(I was involved at work in an internal grievance panel on this very topic, as the person's boss hadn't kept them informed about a potential opportunity for promotion, I won't bore you wiht the details, but it got messy...)

you might find the following government issued document useful.

Yes what Betsy says is right about automatic discrimination. So I think whether they knew about your pregnancy in April and what they say about promotion now they do know about it tomorrow at your appraisal are definitely key..

Imagine - that's interesting. I would consider promotion to next grade to be an objective, I think it's specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and obviously you could set a timeframe for it.

I would agree that lower-level shorter-term objectives would be key to achieve it though..

Thanks ever so much for your responses, really found them valuable.

All graduates were provided with a tailored development plan when they joined, and I suppose I thought it sufficient that I asked for a development plan like my contemporaries received, than put one together myself. This has been my first job since graduating, and I'm only 25 (was 22 when I joined) so I'm not overly confident or feeling particularly secure with my position in the company! I'm a lot better now, but certainly when I joined I felt very lost, and just got on with my day-to-day job. I still find it difficult to have the confidence to approach my manager and ask him difficult questions about the way I am managed.

Many of the actions in my development plan aren't SMART, such as "achieve familiarity with company procedures", but I believe I have achieved them, and in many cases exceeded them. As an environmental consultancy KPIs can be difficult to set and manage, I have high utilisation targets, but if there's no work, then my utilisation drops and there's nothing I can do about it.

However, all my actions were achieved to my satisfaction, as well as my managers' satisfaction, and most of the measurable targets were met (other than utilisation).

I questioned my lack of promotion in April, and was told it was due to there not being any budget to promote me (despite then going on to recruit two more people at the level I was aiming to be promoted to); as promotions came after appraisals, this is the first appraisal I will have had since April.

Incidentally I didn't know I was pregnant until May, so that couldn't have been taken into account. I can't imagine that I would carry through any litigation, but I want them to know I am aware of the legislation and how it would affect me.

I suppose I've never been hard-nosed enough to pin-my managers down to ask tough questions - they're all very good at talking around the subject. Combined with the fact I have a tendency to blush like a beetroot when in these situations doesn't make for an easy life! I'm fine being hard-nosed (or brown-nosed when required) with clients and managing other consultants, but as soon as its me and my manager, he gets very dominant and I get very submissive. Something to work on there I guess!

Thanks again for your help - I hope my answers help you a bit

I do find your use of the term "get promotion" interesting. In your eyes, does the promotion mean more money and more responsibility, or, just more money?

I would suggest you offer to take on an increased role or a project or find some way of increasing your value to the company.

Of course, I am public sector and you may not be, but in my experience, promotions are gained through applying for a new role and taking on a different set of duties and responsibilities. It is still very early in your career so try not to be too disheartened by this. Maybe you need to work on your personal style (you mention being submissive) and try and gain a bit of gravitas/confidence. A personal coach could help with this but it is something that comes with experience.

Naetha I think we may have found the answer. I don't know what additional responsibilities would come with the promotion, presumably some.

If you find it so difficult asking tough questions of your manager, and become submissive when talking to him, that is not going to fill him with confidence about your ability to take on a higher level more responsible role within the organisation.

Of course he should be honest about that with you, and then work with you to improve that area of your work, but the fact remains that we may have found the/a reason for your lack of promotion, or at least for the stalling that you are experiencing.

FWIW I think something like 'achieve familiarity with company procedures' is a SMART objective - it's specific, measurable (you can easily assess someone on whether they are familiar with procedures), achievable and you can set a timeframe by when it should be achieved. SMART objectives don't need to be about numbers, lots of people's jobs are based purely around 'soft skills' and cannot really be measured in figures or similar, but their objectives can be SMART. It does sometimes depend on how they are worded, whether a timescale is set, whether specific procedures you need to be familiar with are identified to you, and discussing with your appraiser how your success with that objective will be evaluated.

Anyway, I digress!

You are going to have to develop a hard nose by tomorrow if you want to get this sorted.

If I were you, I'd put together a draft development plan along the lines I suggested in my first post. Obviously you don't have a lot of time, but I think it's worth doing at least the beginnings of one, even if you have to stay up late or whatever.

Go into your appraisal tomorrow armed with your plan. Say to your manager that you are keen to discuss your promotion prospects. You have been disappointed at the opportunities that you have missed, but you are very committed to the organisation, enjoy your job, are keen to develop yourself and take on more responsibility and would like to discuss with him how you can best achieve this and make the most of what you have to offer. You have put together a rough development plan for the things you think you need to achieve/work on over the next couple of months, and how you propose to do that, and you would welcome his input into whether there is anything else that he thinks would enhance your prospects.

Say you would like to leave the meeting with a very clear idea of what you will need to do to gain promotion at the next opportunity which you understand will be January.

It is worth being aware of your rights in terms of sex discrimination, that you can be promoted during maternity leave and that it would be discrimination not to promote you because of your pregnancy. However I think 'making sure they know you are aware' is not necessarily a good idea. I think at the moment you need to focus on the performance/personal attributes issues that may be standing in your way, and address them. If you feel further on down the line that there is a discrimination issue, then that can be dealt with then. If you say anything to make them aware that you know your rights, it will cloud the issue and won't endear you to anyone. You wouldn't want them to promote you because you know your rights and they are scared of legal action, so address any discrimination issue if/when it happens I'd say.

Good luck tomorrow anyway

just one thing to add

when you wrote "I questioned my lack of promotion in April, and was told it was due to there not being any budget to promote me (despite then going on to recruit two more people at the level I was aiming to be promoted to)" it worried me.

Maybe there genuinely were budgetary constraints, it's something all organisations have to live with from time to time - HOWEVER I've seen it too many times in the past where poor managers will use that as an excuse, rather than be brutally honest with people & say if you want a promotion/pay rise/whatever then we need to work on this area of your performance. Just make sure tomorrow you get down to the REAL "issues" (if there are any or course ) and don't be fobbled off.

I think Flowery has probably hit the nail on the head as to what may be concerning your manager - perhaps you can think of ways you can demonstrate to him you are ready to take on extra responsibility & all that entails & include that in your development plan. It's always much better to "see" people in action if you KWIM - and you might even suprise yourself by how much your confidence grows when you get the chance to prove yourself.

I also agree with keeping the discrimination card up your sleeve unless/until needed - I wasn't suggesting you use it, just be aware of your rights, playing the discrimination card (whatever sort) never endears you to anyone.

Good luck for tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice - really appreciate it

Although promotion will include extra responsibilities, most of these I am already undertaking, in fact much of my day to day stuff is doing things that should be done by someone two or three grades above me, hence being rather miffed at not getting the promotion. i.e. they expect me essentially to do the job of the next grade up (and then some) yet only get the pay and "status" of a lower grade.

I am going to be much more hard nosed in this appraisal, and much more organised (pregnancy brain keeps on making me forget to ask important questions!!). If that means that I have to be told an uncomfortable truth (you're not very good at x, y, or z) then so be it.

I have already revised my development plan, and got a colleague to review/look over it, so I am confident both the overall objectives and the actions are reflective of my abilities and my prospects.

As for the discrimination thing, it's not something I'm going to bandy about in any way, but it's good to know where I stand.

Thanks again for all your help

How did it go today?

How did you get on Naetha?

Apologies for not updating - been stupidly busy with work!!

Well, the appraisal went well, lots of positive things came out of it (although I didn't get out of the office until 6:45!). My line manager is going to recommend me for promotion in January, however he said the decision is out of his hands. All he can do is recommend not make the decision. I guess that's fair enough.

I tried to be as assertive as possible without being aggressive, and think I got my case across well.

Hopefully my promotion will come through in January, although I'll probably have other things on my mind as I'm due at the end of December!

naetha that sounds great, and your line manager's support will be crucial in the decision.

Fingers crossed and good luck for December as well!

that sounds very positive

good luck!